It's a Farmer's Life
by Otterish
Summary: Following the MFoMT storyline. Claire escapes her life in the city in favour of more rustic surroundings, but will farm life live up to her expectations? Probable future CliffxClaire--will change genre 2 to 'Romance' if so. T for safety!
1. Chapter 1: City

Claire wasn't happy.

Day in, day out, life never changed. An endless loop of routine activities. A robotic, mindless kind of thing where the days blurred together and left no pleasant memories to speak of. She spent her hours at a deadbeat, low-paying job, and came home exhausted to a one-room apartment that smelled of mildew and dead mice. All her friends had left the city to pursue their careers, and her landlord didn't allow pets. In fact, she realized bitterly, the living thing she was currently closest to was a cockroach that had made a nest in her coffee pot. It did the same things every day; ate and slept, ate and then slept once more. She could sort of relate.

It had been like this for a while. But it was today that things would change. It was today that Claire would finally make some motion to get out of the rut she was in.

"That's IT!" she cried as she stormed up the (numerous) stairs to her room and slammed the door shut. Or tried to, anyway—it got stuck, as it always did, and she had to tug on it quite furiously to get it closed. "I've had it! That is the LAST straw! If there were ever any straws to begin with..."

She stopped at the kitchen counter, then bent over a little to peer inside the coffee pot. "You know what happened to me today?" she began. The cockroach twitched its feelers. "My boss yelled at me for taking too long at the water fountain. It's 30 freakin' degrees in that place, of course I'm going to get thirsty now and again! You know, maybe if they'd actually get some decent air conditioning in, I wouldn't need to spend a measly 60 seconds preventing my untimely death. Death by dehydration." She frowned at the roach, which was now scuttling deeper into the pot and burrowing its way inside the debris it had collected. Claire straightened up, spun around on her heels, marched over to the kitchen table, and grabbed the newspaper there. She flipped her way over to the Classifieds, and began her search for a new job, a new home... _something_ new."Listen to this," she called over her shoulder to the roach. "2-bedroom home, $300,000 and it's not even a waterfront or anything! Hah."

One by one, she mentally crossed off the ads listed there. There were a few local jobs, but none of them sounded much better than what she was doing currently. Most of the houses being offered in nearby towns were way out of her price range. Then, she caught sight of some tiny, almost unintelligible print in the bottom-right corner of the page. She squinted and brought the paper closer to the ceiling light.

"Would you like to enjoy a peaceful and refreshing farm life? Well, I like the adjectives they're using," Claire commented as she read the paper aloud. "For more info, contact this number... oh wow, they're selling an entire farm with a house on the property for crazy cheap!" She turned excitedly to the coffee pot. "Isn't this great? Just imagine, a whole new life away from the stuffiness of the city... I could take things at my own pace since there wouldn't be a boss over my shoulder! And I can actually afford it!" She laughed delightedly, feeling sort of giddy. "I mean, it's gonna be a huge change, but I'd do anything to get out of here!" She dashed to the phone, and was so excited she misdialed and had to apologize to a very confused frenchman. Claire took a deep breath and pushed the buttons more slowly...

"Hello? MT Realtor? My name's Claire, I'm from the capital and I'd be very, _very_ interested in purchasing your farm..."

**A/N:**

**This is my first fic, so please don't eat me :O**

**I sort of took Claire's initial position in the game (dull life, lame living quarters) and ran with it to the point where she no longer cares about dead mice or cockroaches because they're so familiar to her. We don't actually get roaches up here (just squirrels in the roof, black bears in the garbage, and rabid raccoons under the porch), so I have no idea if they enjoy nesting in coffee pots, but oh well xD**

**Will Claire arrive at a glistening, glorious dream ranch, or a tumble-down wreck of a farm? Find out in Chapter 2! (Well, you've probably played the game, so I guess you already know...)**


	2. Chapter 2: Farm

**Quick note: I noticed some similarities between this and another fic, which I hadn't started reading until I was done writing this. No similarities were intentional, and I think it's because we both followed the game more or less :P**

"Hello, who's this? Are you perhaps a tourist?"

The man was short, stout, and had a red suit complete with a matching top hat. His hair was slicked back but curled at the bottom, and he had a lumpy brown moustache. The look was completed with a tiny pair of glasses perched precariously on top of the hugest nose Claire had ever seen. "I'm Thomas, mayor of Mineral Town," the man said, and shook her hand. Claire gave him her name in response.

"Er, no, actually I'm here about the farm. I'm the one who just bought it, in fact." Her smile was broad and self-satisfied.

"Ah! Bluebell Ranch! I suppose MT Realtor told you you could live a peaceful, refreshing life on the farm?"

Claire blinked, surprised. "Actually, yeah, that's exactly what they told me." The two of them were paused on the yellowed, worn path just north of the farm. Claire had had a brief look around town already, on the way there, but she was too excited to really take it in.

The man laughed weakly. "Well, yes, that's what they told the last... ten or eleven prospective buyers. I'm surprised you actually bought it, given the state it's in. I'm afraid it just hasn't been the same ever since the old owner passed on." Claire's heart lurched in quite a nasty way.

"The state it's in? What sort of state?" she asked, unsure she wanted to know the answer. She realized she HAD made the decision rather rashly.

"What, you mean you didn't even have a look at the place before buying it?" His potato-round face had an incredulous look upon it. "Well, it's better for you to see for yourself. I must be off now. Good luck with the, ah... with the farm." He tipped his hat hurriedly and ran off, coattails flapping in the breeze. For a moment, Claire just stood there looking after him, shoulders slumped a bit. Then she lifted herself and furrowed her eyebrows in what she hoped was a determined expression. "Hah! It can't be that bad. I mean, it's not like I wasn't expecting a few weeds. Slugs in the backyard, that sort of thing. I can handle it." And with that, she turned and ran down the path, to a farm that was hidden from view by tall grasses and cattails. Brushing by the last bit of foliage, where the grasses on either side converged at face level, she raised a hand to shield her eyes and got a good look at her new property.

"THAT's Bluebell Ranch?" Claire gasped. Weeds were strewn haphazardly around the large soil plot, along with some massive boulders and stumps that were almost half her height in width. There was a doghouse to her left that looked as if it had seen better days--the wood was rotting and the roof was caving in. The barns looked sturdy enough, at least, but they were in dire need of a paint job, and there were visible spider webs even from where she stood. Her gaze moved over to a single, gnarly tree several dozen feet away, where a large, fat bee's nest was situated, buzzing with angry life. Claire looked to the right, dismay written all over her face, and it didn't exactly brighten her mood when she saw the rather tiny house. She picked her way around some branches and stones, tugged the door open (it was creakier than her old door had been, she noted) and looked inside. There wasn't even a kitchen! Even her apartment had had a kitchen. There was a cot in the corner, a half-empty bookshelf, and an old TV with a small table beside it. Another corner held a writing desk with three legs, and there was an alarmingly dusty chest in a third corner. A table was in the center in the room--with cushions instead of chairs. It would have been kind of cute, in a rustic sort of way, if she weren't actually going to live there.

"Well, there goes 'peaceful and refreshing'," muttered Claire. "At least I can finally put those overalls Mom gave me to use."

**A/N:**

**There's no 'official' name for the ranch, unlike the player characters' names, so I went with the name of my own ranch. I think it sounds nice. Nice name for a not-so-nice place :) poor Claire! MT Realtor's advertisement crew are real bastards.**

**How will our heroine ever survive in such a barren and desolate land? Will she be able to restore the farm to its former glory, like Hercules cleaned the Aegean stables? Find out in future installments of _It's a Farmer's Life!_**


	3. Chapter 3: Dog

Claire yawned groggily, listening to the twittery little birds outside the window. The only window, she realized, and it looked out onto the miserable, sad excuse for a doghouse. She wouldn't have made the meanest dog in the world sleep in that thing. Little rays of sunshine managed to pierce their way through the greasy panes, illuminating the hardwood flooring of her new home.

It was pretty _homely,_ that was for sure.

Feeling very sorry for herself, she wriggled out of the ragged blanket and sheets. Claire'd always had ridiculously bad morning hair, so she figured if she wanted to make a decent impression on her new neighbours, she had to clean up a bit first. Looking around, she realized something that made her heart sink even further into the pits of oblivion.

"Oh, no way," groaned Claire. "No... no bathroom?" How would she shower? Would she have to do her business in the woods? She hardly had the money to start renovating, and even installing a toilet would drain her revenues completely. That brought her mind to an even more unpleasant thought. She'd been so desperate to get out of her apartment that she hadn't considered how she was even going to make a living. It seemed obvious, now that she thought about it, but she wasn't exactly enjoying the prospect. How did the saying go? Something about working like a farmer in the heat...

Claire collapsed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling and wallowing in her own self-pity. When several minutes had gone by, she reluctantly got up again and opened up the small bag containing some of her belongings from the city. She pulled out her overalls and a plaid, cuffed shirt. It wasn't eye candy, but she guessed she might as well look the part. Next came a brush, which she impatiently yanked through her hair, and a small wallet with enough cash for a few days' worth of food. After that was a wooden hand mirror. She raised it to examine her face. Claire decided she looked tired and cranky and rather out of sorts. She put the mirror down.

When she was dressed, she turned her head towards the TV. She doubted the reception would be much good out in the sticks, but nevertheless she grabbed a cushion from beside the table and dragged it over. Claire flipped the TV's switch to the "on" position, and after fiddling with the rabbit ears a bit, was greeted by the chipper voice of a weather reporter. "Tomorrow we have heavy rain," she cooed annoyingly, "tapering off into light showers in the afternoon!" Claire hastily changed the channel. She went through lots of fuzzy static before landing on what appeared to be a news show. A man read out the seasonal festivals that would occur in Mineral Town—a horse race on the 18th, then a cooking festival on the 22nd. Claire was beginning to realize that the channels here were very Mineral Town-centric. She pressed the 'next' button a few more times.

Next was a show dedicated to farmers (like her, she supposed). It was rather patronizing, with puppets and lots of bright pink hair. The last channel seemed to be a variety thing, and today there was a post-New Year's special about pounding mochi. She'd forgotten it was New Year's recently. No one to celebrate it with.

Her suspicions of poor reception confirmed, Claire got up, stretching, and made her way to the door. She pulled it open and something on the doormat suddenly caught her eye. She stared at the panting, tail-wagging lump of fur as it stared back at her, blinking.

"Oh," exclaimed Claire. "I hadn't realized this place came with a dog." There was the doghouse as evidence, of course, but it wasn't exactly new-looking. She knelt down and scratched it behind its floppy ears, and it licked her hand in response. "Let's call you Toby," she decided. When she was much younger, she'd had a pet turtle named Toby—at least, until her older sister had set him loose in the local pond. She smiled at the puppy, who had caught sight or smell of a grasshopper and was now darting off after it, barking madly. Maybe this farm thing wouldn't be so bad, decided Claire. Not if she had a friend.

**A/N:**

**It's a step up from her cockroach, that's for sure. Although who knows how she'll feed the thing if she barely has the money to feed herself.**

**What will Claire's first venture into the town be like? Will she be welcomed or laughed at? Her luck hasn't been great so far, but maybe the locals won't be too bad! Find out in Chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4: Girls

Choosing not to look too long at the mess that was her farm, Claire gave one last look at Toby, then hurried past the tall grasses, down the path leading out of Bluebell Ranch. The sun was out, but cloud coverage ensured cool air, and a pleasant breeze lifted her hair as she slowed to a walk. To her left were tall evergreens in orderly rows; they towered over Mineral Town and produced a scattered network of shade and light as the sun streamed through their branches. The other side of the path was lined with bushes, and fencing ran its length.

Claire soon came to a fork in the road with a sign nestled in the bend. "North side of Mineral Town," read Claire. "And south side that way. Bluebell Ranch... well, it's not like I'll have any trouble getting _there_." She continued along the first path, slightly unnerved by the overall quietness of the town. She hadn't seen a single person since her arrival, other than Mayor Thomas. Then she stopped as she caught sight of two girls turning onto the same road she was on. They seemed to be engaged in some sort of debate, and didn't notice her at first. One of the girls was in overalls too—she had orange hair that was tied into a plait with a white bow. The other girl's hair was long and brown, except for two sections of blonde in the front. She was wearing cutoff, knee-length shorts tied with a belt, and a plain white top with a purple vest.

As they walked closer, she could hear their conversation.

"Karen, I'm telling you, you overcharged me on those ingredients!" The redhead had her hands on her hips as she walked, and she was glaring at the other girl, who shook her head. "I counted it twice. The flour was twenty bucks, and the chocolate was ten. I really don't see what you're getting worked up about, Ann."

Ann pouted. "Well, I'm down forty bucks for some reason, and that's ten more than what I should be."

"Are you sure Doug didn't need to borrow some money, or someth—" Karen stopped midsentence, and stopped walking as well. Ann halted a second later. They both stared at Claire with interest. She felt she should speak up, so she cleared her throat.

"Uh, hi! My name's Claire, I just bought the ranch down that way." She pointed, then continued. "I'm, er, I'm sorry I overheard your argument, I mean, I wasn't trying to—" Claire stopped awkwardly and grinned, sheepish. Ann smiled broadly in response. "Well, hi there! My name's Ann. I'm the daughter of the innkeeper here, and, oh, this is... Karen." She gave Karen an evil look.

"Nice to meet you," said Karen breezily, keeping her cool. "Bluebell Ranch, huh? Well, it's not in the best shape, as you must have seen, so it could really use someone to fix it up. Nice to know it has a new owner. And I'm sorry you caught us at a bad time." Claire shrugged. "No big deal," she said. "Hope you guys can work it out. Well, be seeing you around!" She started off down the path again as Karen and Ann said their goodbyes, and then the two resumed their argument, their voices fading off as the distance between them and her grew.

"Well, they seemed nice enough," admitted Claire to herself, feeling considerably more cheerful. "Let's just hope the rest of the townsfolk are that friendly."

**A/N:**

**Things are looking up for Claire! Though it seems like she's just ignoring the situation of her farm (and wallet) in favour of mingling... could come back to bite her later.**

**Will Claire be able to befriend the other villagers as well? Or will she meet an evil nemesis in their midst? Only Chapter 5 will tell!**


	5. Chapter 5: Gray

Claire soon came to a second fork in the road, where Karen and Ann had come from. A breeze wafted by suddenly, carrying the scent of fresh grapes and—yes, wine. Out of curiosity, she ditched the main path in favour of this new one. She'd barely taken a few steps when she discovered the source of the berries: a small vinyard was nestled besides what appeared to be a winery. Claire read the nearby sign: _Open 10 AM to Noon, every day except Saturday – We sell wine and juice!_

Checking her watch, she noted that it was 9:40, and indeed, the sign on the winery's door read "CLOSED". She couldn't resist taking a peek in the window, though. A slim, relaxed-looking woman with dark hair was seated at a desk, doing paperwork or something. Claire quickly ducked her head down as the woman looked up. Then she heard a voice behind her, making her jump and hit her head on the windowsill.

"Augh..." she groaned, rubbing her head, then looked up to see the source of the voice. There were two people dressed in the same tan uniform and baseball cap, moving around in unison Then she shook her head to clear it—ah, that was better, she thought. Now there was just one of them, and he was standing still. That made more sense.

"You know, it's rude to spy on people," the boy said, frowning and tugging at the rim of his hat. Claire got up and dusted herself off, matching his frown with one of her own. "Well, it's also rude to sneak up on someone like that," she said. "You should apologize."

"Fine," the boy said, and a small smile crept onto his face. "I'm sorry I scared you like that."

"Then, I'm sorry I spied on someone," replied Claire. The boy reached out his hand, and she shook it with a grin. "The name's Gray," he said. "Claire," said Claire. "I'm the new farmer over at Bluebell."

Gray gave her an odd look. "You actually bought that old wreck of a farm?" Claire sighed miserably.

"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting it to be as bad as it is." Then, to change the subject, she asked him, "What do you do around here?"

"I'm the blacksmith's apprentice," answered Gray. He didn't look too happy about it. "But my grandfather—he's the blacksmith—is really hard on me all the time. I'm about ready to give it up thanks to him." Then he glanced down at his watch. "Speaking of which, I really need to get to the shop around now. Come by if you need any tools worked on."

Claire nodded. "Definitely! See you, Gray." He nodded curtly and was off. So she wasn't the only one with work issues, thought Claire. At least she didn't have some geezer yelling at her back on the farm. And the neighbours weren't too bad, either! With a newfound swing in her step, she set off again on the path.

But she'd barely made it two or three feet before something fluffy, squawking, and quite agitated came barelling up the road at her, then jumped up and landed squarely on her chest. Claire was too surprised to react beyond falling backwards and staring at the chicken (which was now flapping around crossly and getting feathers all over her). Then she looked up in alarm as a dog—the same size as Toby, but a darker brown—came dashing after the bird. It pounced on it, and the two of them fell off into the road, a tumbling mess of fur and feathers.

**A/N:**

**I think Gray's a little more reserved in the game, but I kept his straightforward attitude. Ah—by the way, I'm not *necessarily* going to be using the canon pairings here.**

**Poor Claire. Just when things were starting to look up, she gets attacked by poultry.**

**That's two bachelorettes and one bachelor down! Who will Claire run across next? Can you make an educated guess? Find out in the next installment of: _It's a Farmer's Life! *_cue dramatic music***


	6. Chapter 6: Chickens

Claire was just about to do something—break up the fight, run for help, throw something at the dog—when a pair of footsteps came thundering up the road. "I think it's Mitzi!" squealed a female voice—the chicken and dog were kicking up a lot of dust, and Claire was still in a daze, so she couldn't see who it eas exactly. "Yeah, that's her," came a voice of indeterminate gender. "Stand back."

A few seconds later, Claire, still coughing from all the dust, was staring up into the face of a... a guy? A girl? She wasn't entirely sure. They had medium-length orange hair that was pulled back with a headband, and they had glasses and an apron on. In one hand was the squirming, yelping puppy, in the other was a bedraggled and confused-looking chicken. The person squinted at Claire, and opened their mouth as if to speak, when a girl leaned over her suddenly.

"Ohmigosh, are you OK? I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, and Claire recognized her as the voice from earlier. The girl looked on the verge of tears. "I looked away for one second and Hannah came into the coop and Mitzi ran off and I didn't know what was happening! Ah, I probably should have helped you up first thing! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated, and hauled Claire up and onto her feet. "You're not hurt, right?" she asked. "My name's Popuri! I help with the chickens on our farm sometimes. What do you do?"

"I... yeah, I'm fine, thanks," managed Claire. She noticed the girl's long, abundant hair was pink, and briefly wondered how anyone could manage to dye that much of it. "I'm Claire, I just moved into the old farm here and—" she was cut off by a gasp.

"Not Bluebell Ranch! Oh no, that's just awful, I don't know how you're going to survive!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," said Claire wearily, then remembered the other person, who was still holding the animals and watching with interest. "Er, hi, what's your name?" she asked. They seemed happy to be able to speak.

"I'm Rick," they said. Claire was relieved—she'd been worrying that it would be some androgynous name like "Sam" or "Jamie". "I'm Popuri's brother, and I mind the chickens most of the time." His smile seemed genuine, if a little blank.

"Well, it's nice to meet you two," said Claire. Popuri giggled.

"You have feathers in your hair, silly," she said, and plucked them out. She hopped gracefully over to Rick and collected the chicken in her arms, then ran back to the coop and deposited Mitzi. "Rick, would you take Hannah back to Barley for me? I'm sorry about this, it won't happen again, I promise." Rick nodded cheerfully and headed off down the path, rightwards.

"Say, Claire, have you seen the rest of the town yet?" Claire shook her head.

"Yay! I can take you on a tour then, comeonlet'sgo!" She grabbed Claire's arm and, before she could protest, started speedwalking down the road with farmer in tow.

**A/N:**

**I'm sorry, Rick fans, I truly am. Feel free to thwack me with an umbrella :P**

**I restrained myself on including a "lol are you a girl" scene though. Give me credit for that.**

**Where does Popuri get all that energy? How will Claire manage to keep up? What is the meaning of life? Next chapter may hold the answers to this and more! (Not guaranteed to hold the answers to anything. No money back.)**


	7. Chapter 7: Church

Claire was amazed at Popuri's efficiency. In the span of fifteen minutes, she'd been introduced to Popuri's mother, Popuri's chickens, and Barley from Yodel Ranch. They were now power walking up the road towards the church, and the pink-haired girl was chatting endlessly about various things. All Claire really had to do was nod or laugh once in while, and answer questions when needed. She mostly took the time to take in the scenery: though it was early in the season, a few cherry blossom trees had begun to bloom, and delicate pink petals floated down over their heads. When they landed in Popuri's hair, they were indistinguishable from the rest of it. Po must have noticed Claire's staring, because she smiled and said "It's natural! Pink hair runs in the family." Claire thought it was more _un_natural than anything, but she didn't say it out loud.

"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Popuri, clapping her hands excitedly. "This is the church. Our pastor's name is Carter; he's probably in there right now. Oh, and Cliff."

"Cliff?" inquired Claire.

"He's new here too," Po responded. "He doesn't talk much, though. I think he might be antisocial."

_Or just scared off by your peppiness, _thought the farmer, but kept her mouth shut again. "Can we go in and meet them?"

Popuri shook her head. "They're actually doing some refurb... refrab... decorating," she finished. "But we can take a peek." An unexpectedly devilish smile crossed her face. Claire was a little uneasy, having been told off once already for spying on people, but there was nobody around, so she gave in. The two girls crept up to the righthand window. Popuri was a little shorter, and had to stand on her tiptoes to see in.

When she'd heard the name "Cliff", Claire had pictured a tall, muscular guy with a crew cut, an image reinforced by Po's description of him as being antisocial. She could only see the back of him now—he was helping Carter (identified by his black robe) patch up a stained glass window at the opposite end of the church—but could see that he was lean, and not much taller than herself. His clothes consisted of a brown vest and a pair of black pants, bound around his ankles and boots by fabric. They were a little shabby-looking, as if he didn't own much else. His hair was chestnut brown, and tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. He turned a bit to say something to Carter, and she noticed his eyes were almost the same colour as hers—they were blue, too, but just a little darker. She brought her face closer to the window, and then her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a giggle.

"You seem pretty interested in Cliff," Popuri offered innocently.

"What? No, no, nothing like that, I'm just curious about the, uh... about the windows. I've never seen stained glass like that." Claire wasn't sure why she felt the need to cover anything up, but it was a white lie either way. She had never been in a church, and there wasn't exactly much emphasis on aesthetics back in the city.

Popuri shrugged. "Gotz did those. I'll have to introduce you to him later. Speaking of which, we need to continue our tour, it's almost 10:40!" She dragged Claire off again, away from the church.

**A/N:**

**I think this will probably turn out as CxC, but who knows at this point? I definitely want to try a KaixClaire fic in the future though. Those are my two favorite pairings (but I love them all) :)**

**Who will Claire run into next? And, will Otter ever stop using these annoying blurbs? Chapter 8 tells all!**


	8. Chapter 8: Clinic

The two girls' next arrival was at the hospital. "It's only run by two people," explained Popuri as she opened the door, "because Mineral Town is so small. Hiii, Elli!" She waved happily to a pretty, short-haired girl in a blue dress, who was sitting behind the counter. The girl looked up and smiled, and Popuri half-skipped across the white, tiled floor towards her, Claire following.

"Hi, Popuri!" exclaimed Elli. She had a pleasant voice, and exuded a kind of warmth even in the cold hospital waiting room. "Oh! Who's this?"

"Meet Claire," introduced Popuri. "She's the new owner of Bluebell Ranch. Claire, this is Elli, she's the nurse here."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Claire," said Elli. Claire noted, gratefully, that she was one of the few people who hadn't brought up how awful her farm was. "Nice to meet you too," she replied, and meant it. Then there were footsteps nearby, and she and Popuri turned. A tall man with dark, ruffled hair and equally dark eyes stood there. He was wearing a long white coat and had a head mirror on, making his occupation fairly obvious.

"Hello, Popuri," he said calmly, then looked at Claire. "I haven't seen you around. Are you new here?" He smiled at her.

"Doctor, this is Claire, she's just moved into the ranch," explained Elli. Claire blinked. His name was "Doctor"? Or maybe everyone just called him "Doctor" for formality.

"Hi, Claire. I'm Doctor, and I'm the doctor here, if you hadn't guessed by now." That answered Claire's question. "Farming's tough work, so come to see us any time if you aren't feeling well."

"Thanks, I'll remember that," said Claire cheerfully, then Doctor went back to his office.

There was a brief pause, then a "Tee hee" from Popuri, making Elli frown a little. "What are you 'tee heeing' about?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied innocently. "Just wondering when you're going to, you know..." she clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, and Elli blushed a little.

"Po! You know and I know that there's nothing going on between us." She crossed her arms, sighing.

"Yet," added Popuri smugly, but she left it at that.

"If it makes you feel any better, she's done it to me, too," confided Claire to Elli, as Popuri went off to investigate a flowerpot.

Elli laughed. "She can be a menace, but you have to admit she's got a way of brightening a room, you know?" Claire nodded. "I think I get what you mean."

Popuri, done looking at plants, now gripped Claire's arm. "We need to hurry and go see the Supermarket! And, you really don't want to stick around if Doctor has any new tonics he wants to test." She made a face, and Elli nodded in agreement. "I nearly passed out the last time. Bodigizer and Turbojolt are both OK, but Claire, I really would try and avoid anything other than that. Doctor likes to experiment with medicine, and it doesn't always turn out so well." "Right, I've got it," said Claire solemly. Goodbyes were quickly exchanged, and then they were off.

**A/N:**

**This one was fun to write.**

**When I made my Doctor file, I felt horrible D: Elli's too sweet to leave her alone forever...**

**I have no exciting questions for you this time, but uh... be excited! Chapter 9 is next!**


End file.
